Humpback Mother Repeatedly Tends 4-Meter Stillborn Calf in First Witnessed Birth Off Gold Coast
Updated
Updated · New Scientist · Sep 16
Humpback Mother Repeatedly Tends 4-Meter Stillborn Calf in First Witnessed Birth Off Gold Coast
3 articles · Updated · New Scientist · Sep 16
Summary
17 July 2025 footage from 1 kilometer off Queensland’s Gold Coast captured a humpback mother staying over a stillborn calf on the seabed, repeatedly diving down to look at and touch it for about 2 hours.
An amniotic membrane appeared at the surface by 8:30 a.m., but no blood or placenta was visible; unlike with a live newborn, the mother never tried to push the calf up to breathe, suggesting she recognized it was dead.
A second adult remained nearby throughout the encounter, and shore observers reported the pair still in the same area over the next 2 days, behavior researchers say resembles dramatic post-loss changes seen in other mammals.
The case is unusually important because stillbirth is rarely observed in whales, appears to be the first witnessed in humpbacks, and comes after 8 other dead young humpbacks were recorded in the region in July 2025.
Researchers caution against labeling the behavior as grief outright, but say the missing placenta and a southward shift in calving toward southern Queensland raise broader questions about maternal risk and changing humpback breeding patterns.